Brown's Backers Dominate Meeting

The Traveling Redistricting Session In Orlando Stalled On A Single Issue

August 21, 2001|By John Kennedy, Tallahassee Bureau Chief

The Florida Legislature's redistricting road show quickly turned into a Monday night rally for U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, as dozens of supporters urged lawmakers to leave untouched her nine-county district that meanders from Jacksonville to Orlando.

Just as they had earlier this month in Jacksonville, Brown's backers flooded Orlando's Expo Centre, where some 400 people attended the first of a pair of Central Florida redistricting sessions. Their message was clear and repeated by speaker after speaker.

"When you draw the lines, you've got to draw them for everybody," said Kat Gordon, an Orange County School Board member. "I am black, and we do need black representation. Leave Corrine Brown alone."

Brown, who was among the first three blacks elected to Congress from Florida following the last round of redistricting in 1992, attended Monday's hearing but denied organizing the show of support, which dominated in the evening in which other voters talked of keeping "communities of interest" together across Central Florida.

"I've talked to people, but I didn't tell them to show up," said Brown, a five-term Democrat who has weathered ethics inquiries and a tough election campaign last fall, in which she was targeted for defeat by the Republican National Congressional Campaign Committee.

"But if you listen to what they're saying, it's that this district is working, so leave it alone," Brown said.

A similar show of support for Brown is likely at the second Central Florida hearing at 10 a.m. today at Daytona Beach Community College. Still, even some of Brown's supporters said they thought the hard sell by voters proved somewhat embarrassing.

Orlando City Commissioner Daisy Lynum told the legislative committee overseeing redistricting that Brown is a "dynamic advocate" for her district and for Central Florida's black community. But after more than a dozen speakers had trooped to the microphone in praise of Brown, Lynum said she had heard enough.

"I didn't realize that this was going to turn into a `national night out' for Corrine Brown," Lynum said.

Brown's district, which spans nine counties, has a black population of about 45 percent. It is among the districts that could face dramatic change when lawmakers begin redrawing state House, Senate and congressional districts when the legislative session begins in January.

Brown's district is a sizable 52,611 people below the statewide average congressional district of 639,295 residents, a population reached following the latest census which has spawned the once-every-decade redistricting effort.

But in a touchy political tactic, legislative Democrats are already quietly urging Brown and other black elected officials to agree to have fewer minority voters in their new, redrawn districts. This is in an effort to allow these voters to be placed in neighboring districts, where they might make Democrats more competitive with Republicans now holding these seats.

While Florida's voting population is now closely divided between Democrats and Republicans, the GOP has overwhelming control of the House, Senate and congressional delegation.

If Republicans are able to concentrate Democrats in a select few districts, they will be able to continue their domination for a decade to come, lawmakers of both parties agree.

"Everybody thinks Corrine Brown should be offered a seat that gives her a chance to win," said Sen. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, a member of the Senate redistricting committee. "But if the Republicans get greedy and try to pack all the Democrats into a few seats, then we'll challenge that, the courts will take over and draw new districts."

For her part, Brown said she didn't think reducing the minority vote count was appropriate for her district, especially since she was forced to withstand a vigorous challenge last fall from Jennifer Carroll, a well-financed black Republican.